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Now here: the long-awaited return of temple open houses, dedications and rededications

The Mesa Arizona Temple and temple grounds are pictured in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Mesa Arizona Temple is pictured in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Mesa Arizona Temple is pictured in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Washington D.C. Temple at dusk, July 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Rendering of the Pocatello Idaho Temple. Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A rendering of the exterior of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

September 2021 marks 19 months since the last temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated, 18 months since the Church closed all 168 operating temples worldwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 16 months since the start of a careful and cautious phased reopening of those closed temples.

And now, September 2021 marks the start of a long-awaited return to public temple open houses preceding the first scheduled dedications and rededications. And one week into the new month, nearly 94% of the reopened temples are offering at least some proxy ordinances in addition to all living ordinances.

A recap of past dates:

Bokang and her sister Awande Tshabalala attend the Durban South Africa Temple dedication in Umhlanga, South Africa, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020.
Bokang and her sister Awande Tshabalala attend the Durban South Africa Temple dedication in Umhlanga, South Africa, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Rendering of the Pocatello Idaho Temple.
Rendering of the Pocatello Idaho Temple. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Fast forward to Monday, Sept. 13, when the Pocatello Idaho Temple begins conducting media tours, signaling the start of its public open-house period — the first such open house since Durban in early 2020. The general public open house runs Saturday, Sept. 18, through Saturday, Oct. 23, except for Sundays and general conference Oct. 2–3.

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will dedicate the temple on Nov. 7.

A rendering of the exterior of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple.
A rendering of the exterior of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

The Winnipeg Manitoba Temple follows with its open house the next month, from Saturday, Oct. 9, through Saturday, Oct. 23, with the exception of the two Sundays, Oct. 10 and 17, and Monday, Oct. 11, which is Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday.

The Winnipeg temple will actually be the next temple dedicated — and the Church’s 169th overall — since its Oct. 31 dedication by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will occur a week before the Pocatello dedication.

The Washington D.C. Temple at dusk, July 2021.
The Washington D.C. Temple at dusk, July 2021. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Rededications of recently renovated temples have been scheduled. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, will preside at the Dec. 12 rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple, with its open house running from mid-October through mid-November. Also, 2022 dates for the Washington D.C. Temple are a June 19 rededication and the open house set from late April to early June.

The pandemic forced the postponement of the 2020-scheduled dedications of the Winnipeg Manitoba and Rio de Janeiro Brazil temples and the rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple. Dates for the Rio temple have yet to be rescheduled.

Excavation has reached 45 feet below street level on the Salt Lake Temple renovation project. Twenty more feet of soil will be removed before construction begins on the three-level underground north addition.
Excavation has reached 45 feet below street level on the Salt Lake Temple renovation project. Twenty more feet of soil will be removed before construction begins on the three-level underground north addition. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Besides those three finished temples, the Church currently has another 40 temples under construction, following the recent groundbreakings of the Neiafu Tonga and Nairobi Kenya temples held Saturday, Sept. 11. Three more are waiting in the wings, with a Sept. 18 groundbreaking set for the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple and two more on Oct. 9 — the Casper Wyoming and Pago Pago American Samoa temples.

With the completion of the renovated Mesa and Washington D.C. temples, six more temples are under renovation, to be joined by the Manti Utah Temple, which is scheduled to close Oct. 1.

As of today, the Church has the following breakdown of its 168 dedicated temples:

  • 140 operating in Phase 3, offering all living and proxy ordinances.
  • 7 operating in Phase 2-B, offering all living ordinances and proxy baptisms.
  • 6 operating in Phase 2, offering all living ordinances.
  • 2 operating in Phase 1, offering living sealings of husband and wife.
  • 5 “paused” because of local COVID-19 conditions — 4 in Phase 3, 1 in Phase 2.
  • 8 closed for major renovations — 6 districts designated as Phase 3.

Counting all the current and projected temples and districts operating in Phase 3, including those paused, 150 of the Church’s 168 temples — or 89.3% — are designated now to be offering all living and proxy ordinances.

Add in the additional temples operating or projected to be operating in Phase 2-B and offering proxy baptisms and confirmations, and that makes 157 of the Church’s 168 temples — or 93.5% — offering at least some proxy ordinances in addition to all living ordinances by month’s end.

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